Published in The Canadian Jewish News. One of the defining memories of my youth is the 1990 Gulf War, and the subsequent Iraqi missile attacks against Israel early the next year. I was 14, and I distinctly remember the drama of waking up at night to the sounds of air raid sirens warning of incoming Scud missiles. In a haze, … Read More
Published in The Canadian Jewish News. The start of the inevitable Iranian retaliation to Israel’s stunning series of airstrikes caught me in the shower Friday night. Upon hearing the familiar sound of wailing air raid sirens outside, I quickly grabbed a towel and casually joined my wife and sleeping children in our youngest daughter’s bedroom, which also doubles as our … Read More
Published in The Canadian Jewish News. With all the trauma and turmoil that has engulfed this country after more than a year of war, it seems almost trivial to describe the plight of daily life in central Israel under the spectre of missile attacks. After all, we are not in the thick of battle like the soldiers or on the … Read More
Published in The Canadian Jewish News. One would think that news of an impending, widescale attack from your nuclear threshold, sworn enemy nation would set off a panic. But that’s not what happened when I heard that Iran had finally unleashed its first direct assault on Israel. After living through the horrors of the murderous Oct. 7 Hamas infiltration there was something … Read More
Sudanese asylum seekers experience a double dose of trauma from Hamas attack on Israel. Feature published in HIAS. TEL AVIV — The Hamas attack on Israel last October 7 was so unprecedented, brutal, and barbaric that most people in the country have struggled to find a point of reference. As details emerged about the scale of the massacre of more than 1,200 … Read More
Published in The Canadian Jewish News. When the wailing air-raid sirens woke me in the early morning hours of Oct. 7 and sent me stumbling to the safe room of our apartment in central Israel, my initial instinct was rather benign. Another rocket attack from Gaza, I figured, been there, done that. You see, once you’ve lived in Israel long … Read More
How we respond as a nation to this unprecedented calamity may well dictate what kind of country remains – or if one remains at all. Op-ed published in The Times of Israel One way or another, the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre will become a watershed moment in Israeli history. There is no way the country can remain unchanged. The depth … Read More
We’re torn between wanting to know every detail and wanting to unplug and hold our loved ones tight, but the best we can do is counter evil with good. Op-ed published in The Times of Israel It’s been a week. A week since our country, our world and our very lives have been upended. There is so much to say … Read More
The only context for this tragedy comes from the darkest days of Jewish history. Op-ed published in The Times of Israel Even without a final death toll, we can already confidently state this grisly figure: Oct. 7, 2023, was the single deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. The testimonies and footage depicting the wonton murder of unarmed civilians, the … Read More
It would be a sweetheart deal, but the PM no longer has the political capital, public support or moral authority for it. Op-ed published in The Times of Israel As the son of a noted Jewish historian and the brother of Israel’s most legendary slain commando – not to mention his role as the country’s longest-serving prime minister – Benjamin … Read More
‘Jewish national unity’ has always been a myth. The question is whether there is enough glue to hold Israel together. Op-ed published in The Times of Israel Independence Day is typically the most joyous day on the Israeli calendar. It’s a chance to appreciate all that the country has achieved and revel in the Jewish people’s triumphant return to their … Read More
The unhealthy habits Israel picked up from the United States echo throughout its judicial crisis. My guest column published in The New York Times TEL AVIV — Hours before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed a proposed judicial overhaul that has prompted mass protests, the head of one of Israel’s most powerful unions made a small, seemingly off-topic remark as he announced a nationwide … Read More
The “old Bibi” would never have allowed the country to spiral into the unprecedented crisis it now faces. For Israel’s sake, let’s hope some of him still remains. Op-ed published in The Times of Israel I’ve never liked Benjamin Netanyahu. I never thought he was the right person to lead Israel. It is therefore no surprise that I have never … Read More
The Bennett government collapsed because of baseless fearmongering, a tribal devotion to Likud and a cult of personality surrounding its leader on trial for corruption. Op-ed published in The Times of Israel Throughout the year-long tenure of Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid’s unity government, there has been a common refrain coming from supposed Israeli hardliners. This was a dangerous experiment … Read More
How an awkward German refugee helped liberate southern Israel in the 1948 war of independence. Published in Tablet Magazine. It was a crucial turning point in Israel’s fight for survival. After ten days of intense fighting, the warring parties agreed on July 18 to the second, and final, cease-fire of the 1948 Mideast war. The ensuing three months would prove … Read More